A pediatric cardiac surgeon is a doctor with specialized training to perform heart surgery on children. The majority of heart problems requiring surgery on children are congenital heart defects. A skilled pediatric cardiac surgeon is capable of repairing all types of complex heart defects on newborns, babies, young children and teens. Given the complexity of…
It’s not a matter of how much heart you have, but how much heart you give. That is true for Johnathan Young. He was born with half of a working heart. Johnathan, age 11, is the youngest of Greg and Jill Young’s three children. When Jill had her 20-week pregnancy ultrasound, the clinician noticed something…
Andrea Lambert, M.D., decided to specialize in heart failure and heart transplant care after an especially challenging case during her cardiology training. The patient appeared to be out of options, but after a collaboration between different medical specialists, she underwent a new heart procedure that saved her life. “There’s something really exciting about being able…
As Audrey Sims talks on the phone, her 7-year-old twin boys can be heard enthusiastically enjoying the video game they are playing upstairs. “We picked up video games when the pandemic hit,” Audrey said. “It is something they could do while quarantined and inside. They also like Legos. Luckily, neither of them is ever alone,…
Avery Conover says she wants to drag race someday, just like her father, Ricky Conover. According to her mother, Kayla Conover, Avery is very independent and doesn’t give up. Kayla says that fighting spirit is how Avery has weathered surgeries and care of a single ventricle congenital heart defect. Kayla was surprised at her 20-week…
Caring for children born with complex heart conditions can be challenging and stressful for families. Treatment involves long hospital stays and sometimes multiple open heart surgeries. Being well enough to go home is a big step, and the transition from round-the-clock hospital care to home requires education and close monitoring. These complex conditions such as…
We do not currently have a lot of information about COVID-19 infection in children and adults with congenital heart disease and outcomes. However, based on what is known, we think some patients may be at higher risk of complications. In addition to social distancing, personal hygiene and other measures recommended at KYCOVID19.ky.gov, there are some…
Before he was born, Schielar Skaggs’ parents, Terry and Melissa, worried about the life their son would have. Would he survive childbirth? If he did, would his life be short and filled with suffering and surgeries? Tests during Melissa’s pregnancy showed Schielar had a complex congenital heart condition known as hypoplastic right heart syndrome with…
Audrey Sims’ first clue that her twins’ birth would be complicated came at 14 weeks of pregnancy, when a routine ultrasound found that one of her sons, Aiden, had a blocked lymph node, which can increase the risk of miscarriage. Audrey’s OB/GYN at King’s Daughters’ Hospital in Madison, Indiana, referred Audrey and her husband, Andrew,…
Bahaaldin Alsoufi, M.D., says that the road to becoming a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon is a long one. He started his journey at 16, when he first vowed to become a heart surgeon. After earning his medical degree in Syria, he spent 24 years training and building his career at universities and hospitals in the United…
One of the rarest and most complicated heart defects found in babies is hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) in which a critical underdevelopment of the left side of the heart leaves the right side doing most of the work. “With hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left side of the heart can’t effectively pump blood to…